This Mornin' I Am Born AgainListen. Get Re-Born

Partisan Records has released news that Deer Tick has a new album ready for launch in June. The Black Dirt Sessions will be the band’s third full-length release – following 2009’s Born On Flag Day and an EP released late last year. On this record, Ian O’Neil replaces lead guitarist Andrew Tobiassen. Ian is know from Deer Tick’s recent live shows as the guy that looks like Bob Dylan.

As I hypothesized long ago, 2009 saw Deer Tick blow up in the national spotlight, gaining a rabid fan base – one which even contains NBC’s Brian Williams. Their furious tour schedule, coupled with an intensely  intriguing live show has helped to bolster this notoriety. Adding prolific output to the band’s resume is the next best way to grab and keep those fans. Reportedly, the new album has the sound of a band finding their stride and a frontman in John McCauley coming into his own as a true songwriter. Can’t wait.

To curb your appetite until some tracks become available, here’s a sweet little Demo Version of a tune off Deer Tick’s debut album:

Deer Tick - Art Isn't Real (City of Sin) [Demo Version]

Woke up this Monday morning to some exciting news in my inbox. Josh Ritter’s much anticipated follow-up to 2007’s Historical Conquests now has a title, release date, and a promo track. So Runs The World Away will be available in the states on May 4th (April 23rd in Ireland).

A note from Josh on the album:

“So Runs the World Away” took me over a year to make. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve never recorded a song for a record that I didn’t believe in absolutely and that didn’t feel, in its writing, recording, and performance, like a moment of real inspiration. I love the songs on this record so much, and my thanks go to my incredible and talented band, my family, and my family of listeners wherever they may be in this fast-spinning world. All my very best, and see you soon!
Josh

As much as Josh is loved throughout the blogosphere, I’m sure this will be posted everywhere, but I’d like to be the first to bring it to you. Josh wants you to join his mailing list to get this track, so do that too below.

Josh Ritter – Change of Time

Got an email this morning containing some free tracks available from AmieStreet.com. One of which happens to come from a very highly anticipated album – Joe Pug’s full-length debut Messenger. The disc comes out February 16th via Lightning Rod Records following Joe’s impressive first two EPs. Get Nation of Heat here and In The Meantime is still available for free when you join Joe’s mailing list.

Messenger

1. Messenger
2. How Good You Are
3. Not So Sure
4. The Sharpest Crown
5. The Door Was Always Open
6. The First Time I Saw You
7. Unsophisticated Heart
8. Disguised as Someone Else
9. Bury Me Far (From My Uniform)
10. Speak Plainly, Diana

Also up for grabs in the email was a track from Great Lake Swimmers – a band I’m slowly but surely getting into. This one comes from their 2009 release Lost Channels. It’s a rousing acoustic track that’s “swimming in harmony.”

Great Lake Swimmers – Still
buy Lost Channels (2009) [CD][Vinyl][MP3 - only $5]

The Everybodyfields were one of my favorite discoveries of 2007. Their album from that year, Nothing Is Okay, was a top 10 choice and remains in solid rotation. So I was understandably upset when I learned last year that they were taking separate paths. But my disappointment changed to excitement once I heard a couple tracks from their current projects.

Sam Quinn has since formed another band – Sam Quinn & Japan Ten. The band includes Sam, Josh Oliver, Megan Gregory, and Brandon Story. So far, they have only released a DVD (available here), but have set a tentative date of late February – early March for The Fake That Sunk a Thousand Ships:

1. Hello
2. Fanboy
3. So Strong
4. Suite Motown
5. Strange Wave.
6. Gun
7. Mardi Gras
8. Help Me
9. Late The Other Night
10. River

You can hear some of them here.

Meanwhile, the beautiful Jill Andrews has been hard at work recording new stuff, getting her touring feet on the ground, and making videos to tell us all about it. Jill has a 6-track EP out (both hard copy and digital) on her website.

Here’s her latest (November edition) Video – this one with Matt Buthcer.

Check out her previous videos:
[Ocotber][September][August][July][June]

Deer Tick’s 2009-ending EP More Fuel For The Fire is out today through iTunes. Get it for only $3.96. You get 3 new tracks and a live cut of ‘Straight Into A Storm.’

Also, Amazon is selling Born On Flag Day for only $5 today. Get you some.

But to keep you folks comin’ to this here site, I’ll give you some cheap music as well. Here’s John from Deer Tick doing his best acoustic Mellancamp:

Deer Tick – Authority (John Mellancamp cover)
Check the video at Fader TV.

Deer Tick announced last week that they have a NEW EP ready for release. More Fuel For The Fire will be available exclusively through iTunes December 1st. Read the CMJ story here. The EP will feature 3 new tracks and a live cut of ‘Straight Into A Storm’ from Born On Flag Day – the band’s sophomore album – released only a few short months ago.

I will be attending Deer Tick’s show in Houston this weekend to get an early preview of these new tunes. The boys are opening for Neko Case at Warehouse Live. I also plan on catching Slaid Cleaves Friday night at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck. If you’re ever in the Houston area – check their schedule. Truly one the best places to see live music.

Both of these artists had 2009 releases and have yet another chance to impress me before I finalize my end-of-year lists. And I’m proud to announce that this year, my list will be part of something much bigger than simply this blog. The Bird List will compile chosen albums from more than 30 Americana/Alt-Country/whathaveyou blogs to create the ultimate Best Albums of 2009 master-list. Special thanks to Matt from A Truer Sound for including me in this effort. I’m excited to see how this turns out in its inaugural run.

I mentioned the other day that the long-awaited Gillian Welch follow-up to 2003’s Soul Journey is finally coming, albeit in the form of The Dave Rawlings Machine. Now that we have full details including track list, release date, album art, and pre-order, I thought I outta give this release its own post.A Friend of a Friend is the first solo album from Dave Rawlings, although he has collaborated (and played alongside) Gillian Welch throughout her career. In addition, the duo has been instrumental in helping a couple of my favorite artists get their recording feet on the ground. Dave pays homage to these friends on his album, due out November 17th on Acony Records, by re-recording songs co-written with Ryan Adams (‘To Be Young’) and Old Crow Medicine Show (‘I Hear Them All‘).

Those co-writes, along with five other original songs make up with bulk of the album, with an interesting cover medley of Conor Oberst’s ‘Method Acting’ and Neil Young’s ‘Cortez The Killer’ thrown in the mix. I’m most looking forward to the lead-track ‘Ruby’ and ‘Sweet Tooth,’ both of which I vividly remember from The Big Surprise Tour. As expected, Gillian lends her siren vocals throughout the album, and Old Crow Medicine Show will help fill out arrangements.

1. Ruby
2. To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)
3. I Hear Them All
4. Method Acting/Cortez The Killer
5. Sweet Tooth *
6. How’s About You
7. It’s Too Easy
8. Monkey And The Engineer
9. Bells of Harlem

Pre-order now at Amazon – $11.99

Go pick up Lyle’s new album, Natural Forces, at Amazon today only for $3.99.

Here’s on of my favorite tunes of his:
Lyle Lovett – Step Inside This House
buy Step Inside This House (1998)

First, the New Album news:

• The much anticipated new Gillian Welch album isn’t coming anytime soon… but a David Rawlings Machine album is! Heather at Fuel/Friends reported that Dave’s album, A Friend of A Friend, is due November 17th and will apparently feature his version of ‘To Be Young,’ a Ryan Adams co-write. Gillian will appear on 8 of the 9 tracks.
• The Felice Brothers got directly back to work after Yonder Is The Clock dropped earlier this year. They readied a 9-track demo with the intention of selling at shows – specifically The Big Surprise Tour. But the demand was such that their management wanted to make it an official release. No word on a release date or format for the The Mixtape yet.

**Update** Pre-order is available now. $10 – Ships Monday 10/12.

And the rest:

I’ve had a digital copy of The Avett Brothers‘ I And Love And You for over a month now. The fact that I haven’t said anything about it yet is a little telling. For one, because of the brothers’ new label/record deal, I have been afraid to post (leak) any songs too far prior to release day (tomorrow). On the other had, maybe I haven’t shared anything from the album for the simple reason that I’m not too thrilled with it.

Upon learning about the band’s label switch and plans to record with the famous Rick Rubin, I was immediately torn. Good for them. Potentially bad for the music. As I’ve made clear before, I grew up on ‘Texas Music’ and was indoctrinated with the “Nashville Sucks” mentality, which despised anything considered major label or big-time. To say the least, the term Sell-Out was heedlessly thrown around at the first sign of an increased paycheck. While I’ve since learned that the devil doesn’t reside in Tennessee, and in most cases, a band’s musical direction is ultimately an inside decision, a little part of me dies inside every time a favorite band jumps a rung in the music world.

I And Love And You is a good album. There are a couple of great songs. But it will never compare to Emotionalism. End of story.

OK, well… not the end of this one. I’ve got a few points to hit on. The biggest turn-off from the disc is the blatant lack of banjo. It may be a genre-polarizing instrument, but Lord, don’t completely take it away. Scott admittedly doesn’t play the banjo in the traditional fashion – but that’s what makes it so exceptional. At some point he picked up the instrument and figured out how to make music with it. So what he’s not playing clawhammer. He makes the banjo as much a percussion instrument as a stringed one. It only makes a few scattered cameos on IALAY, the first of which may just be my favorite song from the album.